Italian group ENI is expected soon to award the construction of a floating platform for the exploration of natural gas deposits discovered in the Rovuma basin in northern Mozambique, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported.

The agency added that a consortium made up of French company Technip, Japan’s JGC Corp. and South Korea’s Samsung Heavy Industries may be selected by the Italian group to build the platform, which has an estimated cost of US$5.4 billion.

Yonhap also reported that Samsung Heavy Industries, the shipyards of the Samsung Group, will be entitled to US$2.5 billion of the total amount if the contract is actually awarded to the consortium.

The platform, with an annual processing capacity of 3.4 million tons of natural gas, will be located on the Coral Sul gas field, where it is estimated that there are at least 16 trillion cubic feet of gas, enough to supply a second platform if market conditions are favourable.

In February, the government of Mozambique approved the Coral Sul Project Development Plan, and the ENI group is expected to make a final investment decision before the end of the year. (macauhub/MZ)